sparklegem

I am trying combine a visit to Sarchi and the tour at Doka Coffee Plantation. We will add this to our trip either at the beginning or the end. I am not sure where the Doka finca is. We will also need an eccomnical place to stay and we are not sure what our transporation options are.

I also would like to know more about shopping in Sarchi. What is it like? What is the best time of day to go/ what are the shops hours?

Thank you so much!

tully

gem have you contacted Zamar 2000 (aka Wady Tours) at Orquideas Inn? They can give you a quote to do all that and their rates are reasonable as well (the tour company and the hotel). Sarchi anytime is fine, I just left it up to Luis to choose the shops. We went to a more typical souvenir type place and also went to an old style place where the power is from a water wheel - that was the best!

sparklegem

Oh, Tully that sounds great!! I will definetly check them out.
Thank you!

sparklegem

Hi Tully,

The Orquideas Inn looks really nice; just what we are looking for!

Do you think that we could do Sarchi and Doka by bus? If not is it exspensive to have a guide or easy to get a rental car for the day? I will contact the Orquideas Inn but felt funny doing so before we decide that we were staying there.

tully

gem they are technically 2 separate companies so you can contact Zamar without first Orquideas if you want, their website is http://www.emotionguaranteed.com/

sparklegem

Ok. Thank you! Great to know. I will look at their website now.

raderbarbarian

You are would like to have an inexpensive and adventurous day, then take the public bus to either Doka Estate or Sarchi. The bus that goes to Doka from Alajuela is No. 232 and should cost around 350 colones (about 60 cents). Just go to the main bus station and ask, "El autobus a Doka Estate?" or "El autobus que va a a San Isidro?" Someone will take you by the hand and assist you onto the appropriate bus. It's a tico kind of thing that happens here.

The bus to Sarchi also leaves from the main terminal (although not inside, rather, outside on the street in the rear of the station. Anyone can show you where if you ask, "El bus a Sarchi?" That one will cost you 565 colones (more in September) and will take an hour. The bus will say "Grecia-Sarchi-Naranjo."

An nice and inexpensive place to stay is Vida Tropical

http://www.vidatropical.com/

Isabel and Norman, the proprietors, will be glad to call you a taxi that can also take you to Doka Plantation for about $15 each way. (Cheaper than a tour, I guarantee!)

volcanogirl

We just did the Doka Estate tour a couple of weeks ago and really enjoyed it. It was a combo tour with Poas, and that was our main interest, but we ended up loving the coffee tour too. We learned about the growing cycle, tried a lot of varieties of coffee, went out into the field, saw the roaster and the man packing all the beans by hand - good day.

cmerrell

Hi sparklegem,

We stayed at Orchideas for a few days last December. It's a good location for both Sarchi and Doka.

We had a car for a few days and did Grecia--Sarchi--Zarcero on our own and had a nice time bumbling our way around the countryside! We had Luis from Zamar take us to Doka on our last day in CR. The tour fit nicely into the morning and he dropped us off at SJO afterwards. You should be able to fit them both into a single day trip (I recommend spending a few minutes in Grecia as well...).

If you want to go with a driver/guide, Luis Barrantes (the same 'Luis' tully refers to in her post) is wonderful! A total sweetheart. You'll have a very enjoyable day out with him.